Keeping Up with Covenant Church News from Covenant Presbyterian

Wendell, North Carolina December 2017

Church office hours: Monday—Thursday 9:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Admin E-mail: covsecty1@raleigh.twcbc.com (919) 365-7979 Pastor Debbie Osteroudt E-mail: revdeb2017@gmail.com

www.covenantwendell.com “Celebrating the Past — Building the Future”

Covenant Presbyterian Church

125 S. Selma Rd.

Wendell, NC 27597-9705

Come join us for worship on Christmas Eve

When: Sunday, December 24, 2017

5:30 p.m.

This will be a worship experience for the entire family! We will be retelling the story of the birth of Jesus through the singing of beloved carols, the reading of scripture and a live nativity. Our wor-ship will close with a celebration of lights through candle lighting. Invite your friends and neighbors as we celebrate God’s coming into our world through the birth of His Son!

Dear Friends,

One morning after Thanksgiving last year, my phone rang and when I answered it my sister’s excit-

ed voice rang out: “It still exists!” What in the world was she talking about? “What?” “The Pink

Pig!” If you were raised in Atlanta, Georgia you know about the Pink Pig. It was a train ride for

children on top of the old Rich’s Department Store building in downtown Atlanta. Every year after

Thanksgiving, excited children would go downtown to sit on Santa’s lap and ride the Pink Pig as it

encircled the top of the tallest building in Atlanta at that time, with live reindeers and other ani-

mals grazing along the track. After riding the famous Pink Pig, we would receive a sticker which

we would proudly wear on our coats for weeks. It is a sweet memory that my sister and I share. It

was a special tradition when our family would spend a Friday night together in downtown Atlanta.

Family time. Silly time (what is sillier than riding a Pink Pig). Laughter. No phones. No video

games. No television. Apparently, according to my sister, the Pink Pig continues to transport chil-

dren around a magical track in downtown Atlanta and they still hand out the same sticker.

Christmas is a time to cherish those sweet memories of special relationships.

It is also a time to anticipate the new ways in which God might be blessing our lives. The new rela-

tionships, the new experiences, the new opportunities for growth. I love the fact that God’s light

shines in our lives during the darkest of days. December is when we experience the shortest of

days and the longest of nights. And in the midst of that darkness, the light of life, which we cele-

brate with the birth of Jesus Christ, begins to shine.

I invite you to join us during this season of the church year when we celebrate that light. Each

Sunday during Advent our children will lead us in the Lighting of the Advent Candles. On Sunday

night, December 17, at 7 pm our choir will lead us in a Christmas Cantata. We will worship togeth-

er on Christmas Eve at 11:00 am and then again at 5:30 pm. The 5:30 pm worship will be “Lessons

and Carols and Candle-lighting”. Our children will lead us in re-creating that night in the manger

with a live nativity. Come and share the joy of Christmas with us and bring your neighbors!

Sweet memories and an anticipated future. May you experience the blessings of both in the

weeks to come!

Pastor Debbie

Letter from the Pastor December Birthdays and Anniversaries

December Birthdays

Dec. 3 Rebecca Forrest

Gary Hardee

Trevor Johnson

Dec. 5 Ellie Borelli

Mary Jo Cashion

Dec. 7 Craig Carnes

Cory Haswell

Dec. 10 William Cashion

Christine Mailliard

Dec. 16 Faye Kelley

Dec. 17 George Labusohr

Donna Waszak

Dec. 21 Troy Byrd

Jennifer Carnes

Dec. 23 Bill McCurdy

Dec. 25 Carol Rich

Dec. 26 Brigitte Sanford

Dec. 28 Caroline Byrd

Tim VanGelder

Dec. 29 Kimberly Stevens

Allison Page

Grace Page

Dec. 31 Pete Dunlow

Nolan Hines

December Anniversaries

Dec. 5 Sherman & Louise McClaid

Dec. 7 Ron & Kasey Oldham

Claude & Margaret Wilson – Stayton

Dec. 15 Chris & Heather Wolfgang

Dec. 21 Joe & June Bowman

Doug & Angie Petrey

Dec. 22 Reuben & Patty Hart

Dec. 27 Tommy & Ruth Crawford

Deadlines: Newsletter information due to church

office by 15th of the month. Bulletin information by Wednesday each

week.

Congratulations to Mary Jo Cashion who received the 2017 Mayor’s Award!!

Welcome new church administrative Mary Gay DeFino. Mary comes from many years of working at NC

State University, a number of years in accounting. She is a volunteer with Transitions LifeCare and

takes weekly yoga classes. Mary grew up in Wendell but currently lives in Zebulon with two sweet

spoiled kitties, Tigger and Molly.

Worship Elders Barb Sneade & Tim VanGelder

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

(Matthew 18:20)

FLOWERS: The flower arrangements each Sunday add so much to the beauty of our sanctuary and we are fortunate in having a talented arranger in our church family. As often as possible, she uses flowers from her yard but more often, does need to purchase flowers. If you would like to give flowers in honor or memory of someone, call Judy Raybon 919-365-3923 AND you can take them home!! (Donations accepted also).

The calendar for signing up for flowers next year will be on the bulletin board in the Narthex. Watch for them and get your Sunday of choice to honor or remember someone special.

Cantata—December 17th

Christian Education Elders Becky Abate & Paula Perry

Covenant's musicians are hard at work. Joyful Noise will lead music for worship on Sun-day morning Dec. 17th during 11:00 a.m. worship. The chancel choir is preparing Joel Raney's cantata What Child Is This? to celebrate Je-sus' birth. Raney uses a variety of musical genres to answer the question that the title poses. In doing so, he takes singers and congregation on an unforgettable musical jour-ney. Please come and worship with us on Sunday evening, December 17th, at 6:00. Bring finger foods for fellowship following the service.

The CE committee meets on the 4th Tuesday at 6:00 pm to plan fun, educational and interesting

events for our Church family.

Make sure you are in church during the Sundays of Advent; angels will be lighting our Advent Candle as they tell us about their visits Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.

Sunday School class age 5 thru grade 3 will be studying with Tim VanGelder and grades 4-7 with Heather Wolfgang. Youth are meeting with Jennifer Carnes—Discovering Faith thru Film. Youth Group Sundays 5:30—7:00 pm with Leann Dale. Their service project for the month of Octo-ber was making Jesse Tree ornaments that will be donated to the Jesse Tree Christmas project. NEEDED: People to sign up for making and serving youth dinners. It’s a wonderful way to spend time with and get to know our young people. Pizza and Subway cards are also greatly appreciated.

Mission/Outreach Elders Steve Hicks & Bud Lawler

CARVER ELEMENTARY BACKPACK BUDDY PROGRAM Don’t forget our weekend meals for Carver kids. We need hearty soups, vegetables, peanut butter and fruit. There is a designated bin in the Narthex and lists with suggested items on the bulletin boards. THE FOOD PANTRY is on-going project supplying bags of groceries to needy families in our area. Emphasis for November: Baking Goods: Flour, Sugar, Corn Meal, Salt, Pepper, Spices Baking Pow-der, Baking soda, etc. Of course any non-perishable foods are welcome.

Congressional Care Elders Kimberly Stevens & Jeanne Driver

Breakfast Fellowship December 4 & 11

The Clayton group meets at Jones Café at 9:30 am on the first Monday of the month

and the Zebulon group meets at McLean’s on the second Monday, both at 9:30 am.

EVERYONE is welcome—at either on both groups!

Prayer Shawl

The Knitters meet at 5:00 pm on the third Sunday of the month and create shawls &

throws for comfort in time of need. Want to join the group? Experienced knitters

are happy to help & share patterns. Some supplies are available. Call Christine Mail-

liard at 919-366-0883 for more information or if you know of someone who could

use a shawl.

Join a special care ministry

(Contact Kimberly Stevens at 919-269-3881 or Jeannie Driver at 919-365-5521 for

more information.)

Handy Hands helps with home repairs and chores for those who find it difficult to

manage by themselves. They have installed several ramps for those with problems

with mobility. Need is more important than ability to pay so donations are appreci-

ated.

Martha’s Ministry provides meals in time of need. If you are experiencing difficul-

ties—illness, stress or any other reason and having a meal delivered would give you

a life, please let the church office know (919-365-7979). If you are able to help pre-

pare and/or deliver meals, please call Kimberly, Jeannie or the church office.

Gift Cards: Gift cards are availa-ble for purchase in the narthex. Food Lion, Walmart, Lowes Foods. A percentage of your card value is returned to the church. For more information, contact Susan Darby 919-217-0601.

Finance and Stewardship: For those that have given your pledge, a big THANK YOU. For those that haven’t gotten your pledge in yet, we are still accepting pledges direct to Judy McCurdy, either by mail, email (mccurdyj@aol.com) or phone 919-365-3290 or 919-614-0577 (cell).

Financial Report for November:

Expenses YTD $222,926 Income YTD: $246,302 Heritage Fund: YTD $14,451 Mortgage Balance as of 11/30/17: $1,037,052

Date Lay Reader Audio Greeters Ushers

Dec 3 Hulon Perry Billy Cuthrell Pam Hardee and

Carol Rich

Ed and Barb Sneade, Becky Abate,

Jeannie Driver

Dec 10 Carol Rich Kevin Dale Brian and Paula

Daniels

Chris and Heather Wolfgang, Tim

VanGelder, Barb Sneade

Dec 17 Leann Dale Joshua Stevens Tom and Stella

Martin

Steve Buus, Bud Lawler, Bill

McCurdy, Matthew Bills

Dec 24 David Myers Tim Harris Olive Martin and

Leeanne Stanton

Tommy Crawford, Gary Hardee,

Mike Smithson, Tim VanGelder

Dec 31 Lisa Bailey Amy Stevens Judy McCurdy,

Sally Hines

Don Agee, Doug Petrey, Leeanne

Stanton, Pete Dunlow

Volunteer Schedule for December 2017 Prayer Concerns

Prayer Concerns:

Members – Carol Rich (recurrence of cancer), SSgt. Derek Turner; the Dale Family, Roberta Hole’s family, Susan Agee recovering from back surgery; Walter Perry; Wayne Hall, broken foot; Alisha Turner, Kayley McClure.

Assisted Living: * Merle Kirby has moved; see address below, Beth Lewter (Zebulon House), Louise McClaid (Sunnybrook, Raleigh), John Chambers (Crescent Green of Carrboro), Peggy Fink (Brookdale, Wake Forest), Louise Weant (Stone Ridge, Cary)

Member Friends & Family –

Christy Dunn, (Rae & Mike Dunn’s daughter) Sammie Walton (Carolyn Fleming’s sister) Riley Martins de Silva (Linda and Bruce Berry’s granddaughter) Mike Kaloostian and Rodney Newton (serving our country in the military) Robert & JoAnn Hardee (Gary Hardee’s parents) Steve Moody and Billy Moody Tricia Alford Melinda & Carl Cassick (Sherman McClaid’s daughter & husband) Linda Anibal (Alli Buss’ mom) Donald L. Bullock (Buck Bullock’s brother) Pam Sizemore (ALS) Janice & Readshaw (Carrie Petrosky’s parents) Helen Petrosky (Carrie Petrosky’s mom-n-law) Dawn & Bill Thomas (Carrie Petrosky’s sister & brother in-law) Billy Henderson (Madeline Foster’s nephew) Gale Freyman (Dawn Morrall’s mother) Krystal Moser (Deb Park’s granddaughter) Carol Dale (uncle of Leann & Kevin Dale) Gloria Baker (Judy McCurdy’s cousin). John Taylor, cancer.

Our sympathy is extended to Paula Daniels and family upon the death of her mother on November

24, 2017.

Please let us know of folks we need to add to the prayer concerns by either calling the church office,

Pastor Debbie or turning in a prayer request card during worship.

*New Address for Merle Kirby, The Crossings at Wayside, Room 117, 8398 Fayetteville Rd., Raeford, NC 28376

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3

12:15 pm First Sunday

Fellowship

4

9:30 am Breakfast

Fellowship—Clayton

5 6

7:30 pm Choir Practice 8:00 pm A.A.

7 8 9

10

5:30 pm Mission Outreach

11

9:30 am Breakfast Fellowship—Zebulon

12

8:00 pm Worship

13

7:30 pm Choir Practice 8:00 pm A.A.

14 15 16

17

5:00 pm Prayer Shawl

18 19 20

7:30 pm Choir Practice 8:00 pm A.A.

21 22 23

24

Pennies for Hunger

25

OFFICE CLOSED

26

OFFICE CLOSED

27

7:30 pm Choir Practice 8:00 pm A.A..

28 29 30

31 January 1 2018

OFFICE CLOSED

DECEMBER 2017